DYSPRAXIA

 Specific Motor Difficulties In normal children, gross motor tasks such as catching or kicking a ball are usually mastered before fine motor tasks, such as threading a needle or copying letters. Children with dyspraxia tend to experience problems across the whole range of motor activity. However, some dyspraxic children have a high level of control over fine motor tasks but have difficulty with the gross motor skills required for school P.E., or vice versa. When observed carefully, many of their difficulties appear to lie in planning or sequencing the movements required by a particular action: they may try to correct earlier mistakes at an inappropriate point in the movement sequence, leading to confusion and loss of fluency. Problems may be exacerbated when the child is put under time pressure. Mildly dyspraxic children who perform well at home and during play often start to experience problems when they enter school and are increasingly expected to complete tasks within set time limits. When a child with dyspraxia carries out a motor task, associated or “mirror” movements are sometimes observed in limbs not directly involved in the action being performed (Portwood, 1996). For instance, jumping or hopping might be accompanied by unnecessary arm movements; or when the right hand throws or catches a ball, the left hand may make similar gestures. Associated movements of the legs and feet, such as swinging or tapping, may be observed as the child is seated at a table performing fine motor tasks (e.g. playing with constructional toys). This may indicate that the brain messages governing movement are not travelling along the optimum neural pathways. Hand dominance in many dyspraxic children remains undecided to a comparatively late age, and posture tends to be poor. There may be problems with visual perception (e.g. difficulties in judging distances; a tendency to write letters and numbers backwards so that pairs like “d” and “b” are confused). Some dyspraxic children also experience speech problems, as their motor processing difficulties can affect the articulatory abilities of the mouth and tongue (Stackhouse, 1992). Handeye co-ordination, listening skills and attention span may be below those expected for a child of similar age. Problems with spatial awareness and kinaesthesis (the awareness of movement and body position) make dyspraxic children prone to bumping into objects and people. This may lead to disruption in the classroom and name-calling in the playground.